


Look at Those Beautiful Stars

by GraveTiger



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Daichi's a Cop, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Single Parents, Suga's a teacher, Suga's also in a Band, first years are babies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:47:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27794833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraveTiger/pseuds/GraveTiger
Summary: One adopts his child he didn't know existed last week.One takes guardianship of his orphaned nephew.Neither know what they're doing."You look like you've seen a ghost," Kuroo laughed."I'm... pretty sure that's Tobio's teacher..." Daichi stared at the grey-haired lead singer as their drinks slid across the bar top.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Michimiya Yui/Sawamura Daichi (mentioned), Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Semi Eita & Sugawara Koushi, Semi Eita/Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 22
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

He hadn’t been at this bar in awhile… too busy with work to stray to the other side of town on his own very much. It was a nice place though, slow to update things, but had that hole-in-the-wall homey feel to it. Daichi would probably describe it as _quaint_ … or would have the last time he’d been in there. Stepping into it now was a little… well he didn’t remember them having live music before.

And live music that had the patrons chanting parts along with them at that.

The lead singer was some young guy with grey hair. Next to him was another guy with blond hair playing a guitar. A third guy with a bland expression on his face and black hair stood at a keyboard while a fourth played away on a drum set. They all looked to be around the same age… Daichi’s age for that matter. The music sounded nice at least and the crowd was clearly engaged.

He hit the bar for a drink, sliding in at the very end to watch the room and the door.

The barkeep came over, in the middle of drying his hands off, “What can I get you?”

“One of your nicer beers on tap,” Daichi replied as the song ended.

The barkeep nodded and filled the order, sliding the glass over top of the bar.

Something about him was _so_ familiar… It took a moment and then- “Asahi?”

The taller male, hair in a bun, looked over. He didn’t recognize Daichi right away, but then his face split into a grin, “Hey!”

“How’ve things been since high school?” Daichi asked, leaning closer as another song had started up and abit of the crowd had taken up clapping to the beat.

“I’m taking classes, should be graduating next semester if everything goes the way it’s supposed to. I’ve already sent my portfolio to a few places and have some interest.”

“That’s great!” Daichi grinned, “What’s the portfolio for?”

“Fashion design,” Asahi seemed a little embarrassed by it but there was a spark in his eye that said different.

“Nice! Will you be moving away? That seems like a Paris thing or something.”

Asahi ran a nervous hand over his hair, “I haven’t decided yet…” and glanced up at the stage were the band was still jamming away, “Noya won’t be leaving so… I kinda have to decide what I want more and how hard I want to work for it.”

“Noya?”

Asahi blushed a little, “Nishinoya Yuu… He works behind the bar most nights… Fridays he’s up with the band.” That gave Daichi no clues on who ‘Noya’ was. “He won’t leave though… He likes the job too much… and the band… He went to highschool with the main singer there.”

So not him… and probably not the other blond guy either.

That left the drummer and the keyboardist.

Daichi wasn’t sure why this Nishinoya was such a proponent in Asahi’s future… until he noticed the blush on the taller man’s cheeks and the soft look on his face when he look at the stage.

Oh.

“And he feels the same?”

“I think he’s more willing to try long distance than I am,” Asahi replied.

“Mm,” Daichi sipped his drink, watching the band transition for the next song. The lead picked up a ukulele of all things and they started up into something fun. The guitarist joined in for the second half of the second verse and they sang together for the bridge. The keyboardist took over for a few lines before the first finished it out. It was playful and the drummer had the audience clapping along for bits of it.

Asahi had gone off to deal with a few customers during that, leaving Daichi to his thoughts. Alot had happened in the couple of years since high school. They’d both graduated and he’d gone on to work in law enforcement. In fact, he was leaving in a few days because of a job promotion in a bigger precinct. He wasn’t sure if he'd be back here at all either. Crime Scene Investigation was interesting to him and the department here didn’t have enough going on.

So to a bigger place he was going.

Asahi seemed to have everything and nothing figured out. Daichi was happy that he had a plan… and a special someone… even if those things seemed to clash. He could only hope that the man would figure it out sooner rather than later.

He stayed around long enough to finish his beer and three more songs by the band. They were good. He probably wouldn’t just listen to them to listen to them but in the setting he was in, they were better than what he’d expected. The drummer was fun to watch and the keyboardist was good at his job even if he _looked_ like he’d rather be anywhere else. What generally drew his attention though was the lead singer who had a contagious energy that bled into the crowd. The guitarist wasn’t quite as energetic in an introvert versus extrovert kind of way but they fed off of each other and played well together. Both their voices were good, not necessarily Grammy worthy but it wasn’t _hard_ to listen to.

Beer drained and paid for, he waved at Asahi who waved back and he left the bar without a backwards glance… though the flyer on the bulletin board advertising for the band E.Cr.O briefly caught his eye. He wondered for the moment getting to his car what that could possibly mean before deciding it wasn’t important. He’d forgotten all about it by the time his head hit the pillow.

A few days later and he was unlocking the door to his new apartment. A week after that he started his new job in Crime Scene Investigation. Three years later, he was still there, a little less enthusiastic about the work but no less passionate about the work itself… Some of the scenes were just… hard to look at. The people he worked with made it easier though.

The captain was a bit of a stick in the mud, an overly serious man by the name of Kureto. He ran the department with an iron fist loose enough to let them do their jobs well but on a tight enough leash to keep the troublemakers in line.

Next came Guren who was good at his job but had some off the wall ideas. He was a ‘shoot ask questions later’ type of person who, more often than not, threw himself into dangerous situations before somebody else could. It was mostly fine except that he usually did it with half an escape plan in mind and the team had to figure it out on the fly… something Daichi had been forced to get good at, _fast_.

Shinya was _technically_ second in command due to his rank being above Guren. He didn’t act like it though, usually just deferring to Guren so he could focus on getting clues and evidence. It was freaky what he could pick up on at a scene or while questioning somebody. Daichi also had a firm suspicion that Shinya had a thing for Guren and Guren either wasn’t interested or was too dense to notice. Both were equally plausible.

Goshi and Mito were decent to work with, though the former flirted alot with the latter. Daichi wasn’t sure if the sexual tension was due to them not sleeping together yet or if they had and Goshi wanting more than what Mito was willing to give him. Thankfully they kept it professional when in the field… _mostly_ …

The last two, Sayuri and Shigure, had started about six months after Daichi. Both were nice… well Sayuri was nice, sweet. Shigure was quiet and no nonsense. They both did their jobs with efficiency and Daichi couldn’t think of a single person in the precinct who **didn’t** like them. In fact, Guren liked them so much that he gave them _**all**_ his paperwork.

Over all, it was a good team to work with.

He enjoyed his job.

“The neighbors remember hearing shouting and loud noises like the door being forced open,” he commented as Shinya stared at the door and Mito studied the windows. They’d been here for awhile already, trying to figure out how the prep got into the apartment. The case was… _interesting_ to say the least.

“Well I don’t see evidence of that,” Shinya replied, “Either he had a key or he picked the lock. **Or** she let him in.”

“The windows had nothing,” Mito added, “He had to come through the door.”

“But who would-” he cut himself off as a phone went off.

“Not me,” Mito said.

Shinya glanced at his, “Nope.”

Daichi rolled his eyes, “I’ll be right back,” and stepped out into the hall and answered, “Sawamura.”

_“Mr. Sawamura Daichi?”_

Something made his spine tingle, “Yes…?”

_“I’m Hana Misaki with Child Protective Services.”_

“O-Ok… what can I help you with?”

_“We have a child in our custody and you’re on record as being the next-of-kin.”_

His world slowed to a crawl, “I’m sorry? There has to be some mistake. I don’t have any siblings. So it couldn’t be my niece or nephew.”

_“That isn’t the case Mr. Sawamura. You’re on the birth certificate as the father.”_

Band Songs:

[One](https://youtu.be/2j9VVW_mYQk)

[Two](https://youtu.be/I5wHdUT2a_s)

[Three](https://youtu.be/KdEA5Y3VphA)


	2. Chapter 2

_“You’re on the birth certificate as the father.”_

Time froze for a moment, “I-I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?”

There was a sigh, “ _We have a child in our custody and you’re on record as the father.”_

He scrubbed his face, his brain turning somersaults, “I’m sorry… This is news to me.”

 _“Quite alright,_ ” came the reply, “ _It’s not the first time.”_

There was a thinly veiled accusation in there somewhere.

“Um ok,” not ok… This was very much not ok. He didn’t time for a kid let alone have anything to offer them. They’d probably be better off with some foster family honestly, “What-Uh… What happens? Is that something I can fight? Who’s the mother?”

The woman was starting to sound rather exasperated with him, _“You could always take a paternity test if you’re that sure he’s not yours.”_

_He._

_It’s a little boy._

Did he have a son?

There was no way...

He hadn’t dated a woman in… four? Five years? Any recent ones had all been men… Hell he had a date with his current boyfriend tonight. The last _girl_ had been when he’d still been at the Academy… or had it been _high school_ … He honestly couldn’t remember.

“I’m drawing a blank on how it’s possible so yea, I’ll get tested. What goes into that?”

_“You’ll come in. We’ll swab your mouth and we’ll have the results in three to five days.”_

“Ok… I’ll be in within the hour. Where are you located?” he wrote down the address in his phone and hung up… and then stood there.

How the actual hell did he have a kid?

“Saw~wah~mur~rah~”

“Leave him alone, Shinya. He looks like he’s seen a ghost.”

Daichi blinked at the pair of detectives. Mito looked a little worried but Shinya seemed amused, “Are we done?”

“Not quite. Did something come up?” she asked.

“I uh… Social Services called.”

“Uh oh,” Shinya grinned, “They catch one of your demon spawn out in the wild?”

 _Well_ …

Silver brows disappeared under his hair, “Oh shit… Did you know?”

“No… I-I didn’t.”

“Sheeeeit. That’s a bad way to find out.”

“What do you need to do?” Mito glanced at Shinya, “I think we can handle it from here if you need to go?” Shinya nodded.

“That um… Yea that’d probably be good…”

“Should we tell Kureto that you’re taking the rest of the day?”

“Nah,” he shook his head, “I’ll… just take my lunch and see where I’m at after that. I’ll tell him… if i need it…”

“Ok… hope that works out for you.”

“Thanks,” he leaves, goes out to his car and sits there for a moment, dazed. He’s not even how he makes it to the appropriate building but suddenly he’s there and heading up to the fifth floor. He notices his hands shaking and he clenches them, trying to make it stop.

It’s busy there… lots of people milling around going from one desk to another office. Alot of them are on the phone or talking to someone. There’s so much going on and he feels hyper aware and very self conscious… like just _being_ there admits to something.

“Mr. Sawamura?”

He _almost_ jumps and only just realizes that voice makes the one on the phone, “Ms. Misake...?”

“I’m glad you could make it down. Follow me if you would.”

He does so and within twenty minutes, he’s signed paperwork and had his mouth swabbed for DNA. Now he just has to wait the three to five days for the results. He has a feeling that’s going to feel alot longer. Too bad he doesn’t know who the mother is to see if he can’t narrow it down. He had tried to get a glimpse at the paperwork on her desk, the file with the kid’s info in it. It’d been the quickest glance ever and all he’d come away with that he was _certain_ of was a birthdate: December twenty-second five years ago. He wasn’t sure of a name because he’s seen at least two and they’d blended together when he’d sat back.

Still… five years ago was enough to give him a good idea on who the mother was at least…

“I have a question. His mother-”

“I can’t give you that information,” Ms Misake replied, “I’ll be able to if you do end up being the father.”

Damnit.

“Of course.”

“I’ll call you when they come in.”

He nodded and left, head swimming. Everything’s kind of in a fuzz and he loses track of the next few hours. It’s only when Guren calls demanding to know where he’s been that he realizes that he never let anybody know where he’d been. That leads to him getting chewed out over the phone and a demand to be seen first thing in the morning. He tries to find in him to care. He’s never been formally reprimanded before and he’s sure this will go on his record, maybe affect a promotion… It _should_ upset him more…

But he’s numb…

He’s emotionally exhausted and has nothing left to give tonight.

Daichi makes it home and calls Kuroo. He’s not sure his old high school friend will be able to help… or if he even will offer to try. Kuroo Tetsuro is a Grade A shitlord first and everything else follows. He at least _tries_ to empathetic when the mood hits him. Daichi figures that’s where he came in on the relationship. He was the nicer one to smooth over Kuroo’s bullshit and Kuroo could talk the bullshit Daichi was too nice to say.

The polite people-pleaser vs the snarky asshole.

 _“Hey Country Boy! How’s the big city_?” Kuroo’s voice was tinged with his usual impish amusement.

“I think I’m fucked.”

There was a silent beat, “ _What the fuck happened make you use that word?”_ Kuroo sounded hesitatingly gleeful.

“I just got back from taking a paternity test…”

 _“ **What** … Why-oh._.” Kuroo got serious, “ _Oh shit…_ ”

“They’re claiming the kid’s mine. He’s five, Kuroo. Six in December.”

_“But that would’ve been what? Highschool?”_

“Yui.”

_“Oh… Oh… You guys were dating that last term weren’t you?”_

“We would’ve only had sex once or twice before she left for college…!”

 _“Only takes once, my man_ ,” Kuroo grinned through the phone, _“So… what are you gonna do?”_

“I have to see the results first,” he ran a hand through his hair, “I can’t… this isn’t real until I see those… Kid was born in December though so the timing’s right.. mid or late March assuming she was on time. We didn’t stop seeing each other till mid April.”

 _“Which means that, unless she was a cheating bitch, there’s a little Sawamura running around,_ ” Kuroo just sounds unrepentantly gleeful now.

“You’re not helping,” Daichi’s feeling exasperated, “What am I supposed to do with a kid? My hours aren’t exactly _normal_ , you know. I’ve looked at childcare for that and it’s _expensive_. I’d probably have to take a second job because I come. up. _Short_.”

_“He's old enough for school though right?”_

“For some of it… What about overnight though? Or weekends? People aren’t just going to stop being assholes because I suddenly have to watch a child for all of my off-duty hours.”

_“Damn… You right…”_

“And I don’t have anybody here to help… I’m-I’m by myself… I… I don't know how Izaya is going to feel about it and he's busy with his own work and...”

There’s a contemplative silence, “ _Have you thought about moving back? Everybody’s still here. I know there’s at least a couple of us who’d be more than happy to help you out.”_

“I mean…”

_“I know it’s not what you’d want jobwise but… maybe… for now… It's not far from Tokyo so you could always take the train back to see Izaya... leave the kid with one of us if you want.”_

“I don’t know…” he **has** what he wants _now_. This thing with this kid was **so** not in his plans.

“ _Well… We don’t know for sure yet so this is all hypothetical anyway,”_ Kuroo’s voice has gone back to his usual snarky asshole tone, _“You’ll probably be **fine**._”

Yea… probably...

“Hey I’ve got to go. Izaya’s due here in about half an hour and I’ve gotta…”

_“I got it. Go chill. Take a shower. Order some nice delivery so you don’t have to cook ok?”_

“Alright.”

_“Call me… k?”_

_Call me if you need to talk or vent or anything…_

“You’ll be the first after I get the results.”

 _“Awesome! Bye!_ ” Kuroo hands up and Daichi heaves another sigh.

He doesn’t want to get up, but should. Izaya gets huffy if he’s had time to look nice and doesn’t. He should probably think about that idiosyncrasy but they’ve only been dating for just under six months and as their schedules allow for so it doesn't completely bother him yet. Izaya’s job requires a pristine look so he’s used to it and wants his boyfriend to look good… or so Daichi tells himself.

The shower’s nice, melts some of the tension from his shoulders though not all of it. His brain swirls with the enormity of possibly, probably, being a dad just out of the blue. It’s not a small thing and he should probably tell Izaya… He just sort of dreads that, but they’re supposed to be serious so… it shouldn’t be too bad…

Izaya shows up about ten minutes ahead of the food. He talks some about his work in corporate information gathering, careful to not leak names of anything or anybody so it’s all very vague, but some of the stories are entertaining. They move to the living room with a bottle of Izaya’s favorite wine and some instrumental music on the TV for background.

Izaya stares over the rim of his glass, “Ok spill.”

Daichi almost chokes, “Hm?”

“You’ve been quiet tonight… well more than usual. What’s wrong?”

Daichi took a deep breath, trying to sum it up in a sentence or two, “I got a call at work today… I uh…”

“Out with it. I don’t have all night,” a finger traced over the inside of his knee.

Might as well rip the bandaid off...

“I might be a father.”

Izaya blinked, hand freezing before pulling away, “I’m sorry… _what_.”

“I was called by CPS today because I might have a kid and their mom couldn’t take care of them anymore and-”

Izaya jerked his hand around abit, “I’m sorry, you’re misunderstanding me… The fact that you’re even _asking_ yourself if it’s **possible** is not ok.”

Daichi’s brows furrowed, “I’m sorry?”

“The fact that there’s a legit possibility that this brat is yours is a problem for me.”

Daichi was at a loss, “Why?”

Izaya gave him a look, “You told me you were gay, _duh_ , and here you are saying that you could have a kid! Which means I **am** just a phase for you-!”

“No… If this is my kid, it was from years ago. Like _high school_ years ago,” how had this gone so wrong? “I don’t even know if it is mine. I just sent off the paternity test-”

“Holy fuck, you’re actually serious about this! Next thing you tell me is you could actually be bringing it home with you!”

That stung…

“That _is_ why they called me-”

Izaya hopped up, “I’m done.”

Daichi blinked, “What? Why?”

“You said you were gay and here you are saying you’ve had a paternity test done and that this little monster might be brought into the house? You know how I feel about kids.”

Daichi felt confused, “You’d said you’d consider it when we were older.”

Izaya laughed, “We both knew **that** wasn’t happening. They’re gross and loud. I don’t even have _fish_. You really think I’d be ok with being around a child, _much less_ one genetically tied to you and some bitch?” he cackled, “Hell no! Have a nice life,” he grabbed his things and went for the door, “Don’t call me!” and slammed it shut, leaving Daichi in a confusing swirl of ‘what the fuck’ and emptiness. One thing rings clear though.

His boyfriend just broke up with him because he _might_ have fathered a kid.

He buries his head in his hands, feeling all sorts of fucked up. How had it all come tumbling down? Just this morning, he was happy with his job and his boyfriend he saw a few times a month and now? Now he has no boyfriend and possibly a kid and his entire life here is kind of fucked because there’s just no room in it for a child.

The next two days go no better. The reprimand doesn’t phase him in the least. He’s distracted at work, making the Captain snap at him again to get his head out of his ass or go home. Shinya looks legitimately worried which just makes it worse.

He’s simultaneously jumping for joy and wanting to hide when he gets the call that third afternoon. By the end of the day, he’d have his answers. He just wonders if they’re the answers he wants. Then again, he’s not even all that sure what is either. He doesn’t really want the kid but the thought of them not being a match leaves something hollow in his chest.

Kureto gives him the rest of the day and the one after. He rushes out and to the building a few blocks over. Ms. Misaki seemed pleased enough to see him again and hands him a manila envelope. He’s sure she’s already seen it, but stands there for a moment, scared to look at it.

Then he does it.

And he stares… and stares…

It’s there, in black and white…

His heart races...

He’s a father…

“Would you like to meet him?”

He heaves a sigh and pinches his nose, “Sure… um, but first.”

“Hm?”

“Why? Where’s his mom?”

“Michimiya Yui was killed in a car accident four days ago. She was hit by a tracker trailer and pushed into a light pole.”

Oh.

“We reached out to her parents for familiarity for Tobio. There were pictures of them with him in the house when we went to pack his things... but…” she tapped a pen on her desk, “They didn’t want him… so we reached out to you,” there was an accusation there.

“I apologize. I didn’t even know he existed until you called me. We dated at the end of highschool and went our separate ways after graduation. I don’t think we ever even talked after that. She never told me about him.”

“I see,” she sighed, “Well… I’ll go get him,” and leaves.

He knows he should be more excited or _something_ … but he can’t. This is _**huge**_ , life altering… and he doesn’t even have the months between ‘ _honey I’m pregnant_ ’ and ‘ _congratulations you’re a dad_ ’ to get used to the idea.

Nope.

He’s had three days.

Three days between ‘ _You might be a dad_ ’ to ‘ _You’re a dad_ ’ and it’s happening. It’s here. It’s happening **now**.

He has nothing set up for a kid in his bachelor pad of an apartment, nothing set up for anything. What school does he go to? Is he even in school? How about sitters or daycare if Daichi can’t pick him up? Everything he’d looked at and hadn’t done anything about because there was no way it was real is now screaming at him, making fun of him for not doing something about them beforehand.

Ms. Misaki comes back in with a little boy who, honestly, looks about as thrilled with this as Daichi feels. He doesn’t look much like Yui. His face is longer than hers was with sharp features and narrow eyes. That might be her chin though… and something about that look in his eyes is vaguely familiar…

“Tobio? This is your dad,” Ms. Misaki gestures with a soft smile.

Daichi takes his cue and gets up only to slowly crouch a short ways from the boy, falling into his cajoling cop persona, “Hi…? I’m Daichi-” and extends a hand, “Sawamura Daichi. I was good friends with your mom awhile back.”

“You’re my dad…?” the boy eyes him almost harshly, accusatory.

“Yea,” Daichi huffs a sigh, “Yea. I’m your dad.” Tobio’s mouth tightens and then shuffles forward, taking Daichi’s hand. It’s hesitant, loose. Daichi gives it a little squeeze. He takes a steadying breath, “Let me finish up here and we’ll go home. Ok?” There’s a nod and he’s led back to wherever he came from. Daichi’s handed the paperwork to make it all official. There’s alot of it and it takes longer than he’d thought possible. It almost feels like they don’t really want him to take the kid and are just piling it on, hoping he’ll just give up and leave.

They've obviously never had to do reports for a police investigation before.

He finally gets everything done and Tobio’s brought back out. He’s clutching a stuffed leopard or jaguar to his chest, a decent-sized backpack over his shoulders. Daichi offers a smile which isn’t returned but one hand does reach for his. He takes it in one of his and accepts the single bag with his other.

That’s it.

The two bags and plushie are all the things this kid has in the world.

That… kinda hurts.

“Ready to go?”

Tobio looks up at him and sort of nods.


	3. Chapter 3

“Shoyo! Breakfast!” Koushi shoves a plate of food on the counter and turns to pour coffee into two travel mugs, a splash of milk in one and more than a splash with two spoonfuls of sugar in the other. Both lids go on and placed on the counter, “Shoyo!” There’s thumping feet and the energetic little boy comes running into the room, shirt on backwards. Koushi helps him sit on the stool at the counter and then fights hands to twist the shirt around right.

More footsteps, much heavier and not as frantic, reveals Eita midyawn. The younger twin ruffles his hair and grabs the maroon travel mug, taking a sip and wincing, “Fuck!”

“You do that every morning. It’s never not going to be hot,” Koushi almost laughs at him, “Watch him?”

“Duh.”

Koushi wanders off to get dressed for work, grabbing a collared shirt and button up sweater. He barely glances at the mirror, knowing there’s nothing he can do about the antenna sticking out of the top of his head. Everything else looked fine. Well he looked tired but the kids wouldn’t notice so it didn’t matter.

He comes back into the kitchen to find the bentos on the counter and Eita looking at his phone, “Anything interesting in the news today?”

“ _Ushijima Wakatoshi spotted leaving famous dating site with TV interviewer Shirofuku Yukie. A new romance_?” Eita looked over his screen, seemingly done, “She was giving a fucking interview over dinner because that was all the time he had yesterday-” Koushi hid his smirk refridgerator door, “-He texted me between dinner and dessert to complain about how his lemon chicken was too acidic and the asparagus was so under done he could hear his teeth squeaking.”

Koushi snorted as he picked a yogurt, “That is such a _him-thing_ to complain about.”

“You pay those prices, you’d expect the food to be perfect too,” Eita defended.

 _Probably_.

Eita grabbed his bento and went for the door, “I’ll be home late,” he tossed his shoes on, “Tendo’s flight’s coming in around seven.”

“Do you have the game set to record?”

"We have to find it online. If I have time, I'll for a link and send it to you," Eita grabbed his keys, “And if we’re not, we shouldn’t miss too much of it later.”

“Ok love you!"

“Don’t die!”

“Take good pictures!” Shoyo yelled after him. Eita’s answering laugh as he closes the door is genuine… and slightly painful

There’s no such thing as a good ID photo.

“Ready to go?” Koushi grabs his black and orange travel mug and ushers the excited child to the door. Shoes get put on and Shoyo’s strapped into the car. Koushi starts the engine and gets them to school with bare minutes on the clock. He rushes Shoyo to his class, giving his coworker, Mr. Takeda, an apologetic grin and dashes down the hall to the next classroom where he _slides_ in right as the first parent is dropping their child off. Mr. Iwaizumi doesn't look all that impressed but says nothing as he gives little Yuutaro a firm side hug and a nudge into the classroom before leaving. Koushi huffs a sigh and settles into the day, greeting the other kids as they come in and waving when they get picked up hours later. Shoyo is let out under supervision of both teachers as he rushes down the hall to wait out the late pickups in Koushi’s room. The last few get picked up and Shoyo goes on about he and So _totally_ won at whatever game was played on the playground. Koushi missed that detail and had a hard time caring.

“What are we having for dinner?”

“Pizza,” he replied, “I’ll order it after we get home.”

“And we’re watching Waka’s game right?” short legs swung.

“As long as you have your homework done and you’ve had your bath.”

“WHOO HOO!”

Koushi was forever thankful that Shoyo was overall a happy kid despite the shit his mother (Koushi _refused_ to claim her as his sister anymore) put him through… but damn was he exhausting sometimes. Between him and Eita, Koushi was the more energetic of the two but Shoyo put him to shame half the time and especially after a day at school. How did the kid have so much energy?

Probably since Shoyo didn’t have to keep like seventeen kids in order all day…

They got home and Shoyo set up at the table. Koushi double checked the snacks for later and went over his lesson plan for the next day. He had to explain a concept to Shoyo again and grimaced at some of the answers on his other sheets.

This kid…

He helped correct the errors and finally called for dinner. Shoyo runs around the house with his plushie Molten, practicing spikes and calling shots like the announcers. The Orzel team jersey, with Wakatoshi’s number emblazoned on the back, hung on him like a dress and Koushi had to tie the bottom into a knot at the back so he didn’t trip over it.

“Unca Koush?”

“Hm?”

“When’s Waka coming back?”

“I’m not really sure,” Koushi replied, “This is his first season playing for this team so it’s not as easy for him to come home for a day or two.”

“Oh… but he can just go on a plane right?”

“Yea… but the team’s in Poland… Maybe we can meet him if he has a game somewhere near here.”

“We should see and check,” Shoyo replied with all the seriousness a hyper five year old could muster.

“We should,” Koushi copied the seriousness the best he could and almost broke but Shoyo rushed off to spike his ball again. He breathed a sigh and went for the door as it rang for the pizza guy. He took the boxes and closed the door, “FOOD!”

Footsteps thumped on the floor and Shoyo launched himself into a chair. Koushi slapped a slice on his plate before going to get him some juice. There was a distant rumble of thunder and Koushi made a face, hoping the internet wouldn’t go out. Shoyo ate through six slices by himself before rushing off to take a shower. Koushi helped with his hair, _narrowly_ avoiding a shampoo-in-the-eyes disaster. The boy gets himself dressed in dragon pajamas, complete with wings, and then goes on a hunt for… something.

Koushi doesn’t care.

There’s only so much trouble he can get into in the room that _had_ been Koushi’s home office. There wasn’t even a closet in there and he wasn’t stupid enough to try and climb out the second story window in a thunderstorm.

He sets up the TV to stream the game and finds the right site. Looks like they have a few minutes left so he gets to ponder if he’ll allow himself a glass of wine or not. He goes to check if he even has the brand he likes.

There was a flash of headlights out the front of the house as a car pulled in. The door opened a moment later and a suitcase _clacked_ against the wall as the pair rushed in from the downpour. Eita let the taller cackling redhead drape himself over his shoulders as he toed off his wet shoes.

“Semi-Semi all wet!” Tendo looks smug.

“What’d I tell you about ‘Semi-Semi’ you fuck,” Eita elbowed him away to get in the house proper and lug the suitcase upstairs.

“Hey Satori!” Koushi pulls a bottle out of the fridge and grabs a glass.

Tendo gives him a snarky smirk, “Su-ga.”

Koushi smirks back as he leans over the counter, “You’re gonna have to like me one of these days.”

“I don’t actually,” Tendo grins abit.

Koushi gasps theatrically.

“Tendo!” Shoyo bolted into the room.

The redhead smirked a little at the boy, “It’s Mini-Me. Have you been causing havoc for me?”

“A little bit,” Shoyo grinned.

“Good boy,” Tendo pet the boy’s head with an actual proud grin and pulled him into a one-armed hug against his leg.

Koushi frowned abit theatrically as Shoyo rushed off towards the TV, “Can you _not_ corrupt my nephew?” and pours his wine, taking a healthy sip before topping it off.

“He’s mine too you know,” Eita replied, reappearing and grabbing a cold slice.

“Then you should be agreeing with me!”

“Don’t care enough,” Eita said around a mouthful. Tendo grabbed his wrist and took a bite. Eita shoved him, “Get your own!”

“But Semi-Semi’s is better.”

“Don’t call me Semi-Semi!”

“Se~mi-Se~MI!” Tendo grins and dodges a loose fist. The long-limbed beanpole slips around the counter to get his own beverage, “Wine Semi?”

“Nah. One of us has to be responsible still Shrimpy’s in bed.”

Koushi feels a little called out and leans into Tendo who’s working on a mixed drink that's more juice than alcohol, “I love my brother. I really do. _But he’s boring_.”

Eita makes a face, “Of the two of us, **who’s** single again?”

Koushi gasps dramatically as Tendo slides away to lean back against the other side of the counter next to Eita, “That’s hurtful.”

“But true,” Tendo smirks over his shoulder as he drapes an arm over Eita’s and pulls the blond’s head close enough to kiss his temple.

“You could at least share,” Koushi griped.

“Ok,” Eita smirked a little, “Which one you want?”

Koushi hesitated, inwardly shuddering, “Nevermind.”

“Waka’s on TV!” Shoyo shrieked from the living room.

“Oh!” Eita bolted. Tendo piled some of the snacks on top of the remaining pizza box and slithered his way to the couch. Koushi grabbed the rest and plopped on the floor. They’d only missed the first few points and their team was up by one. The setter was serving, a beautiful jump float if Koushi said so himself. It soared over the net and dropped. The opposing libro caught it, popping it back up for a quick attack that got blocked. The number six reached for it, tipped it, and the ball bounced away.

“That was our point right?” Shoyo asked.

“It was,” Eita grinned, “We’re up by two.”

The setter served again for a service ace. Number six caught the next one, sending it back over the net for a chance ball. The setter popped the ball up-

“Toshi go-go-go!”

The frankly massive number 11 leaped into the air and **smacked** it right back down between two players.

“YES!” Eita grinned and the pair high fived.

Shoyo wriggled and bounced from his spot between Eita and Tendo, “He went ‘WAAAAA’ and then ‘BAAM’ and the ball went-“

The adults laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

Daichi will be the first to admit that he knows nothing about kids.

He’ll also admit that his apartment is not kid friendly in the least.

What he couldn’t figure out though was why Tobio didn’t eat most of what he gave him. It wasn’t like he was picky, ok he was _very_ picky. All he really wanted was those cheap minute ramen packets and an assortment of other various cheap food options. Daichi wasn’t even offering him weird stuff… it was just a few steps up from _barely making rent_ and Tobio acted like he was being offered snails or something. He felt bad when he bought so much cheap shit the second day in and Tobio had barely eaten anything, but the kid munched away happily on the microwave meal and cleaned up after himself before going off to play with his plushie. The one thing he does introduce that Tobio _adores_ is milk and yogurt. The kid can’t get enough of them once he tries them the first time. Daichi’s never gone through so much of the stuff in his life.

He was trying to make the apartment work but the space was just not really there. He had the one bedroom and the rest of the living space was cramped with more than one regular occupant. There was no space to put another bed anywhere but he didn’t feel right putting Tobio on the floor or on the couch so they’d been sharing his queen size bed for the last few days. He’d managed to set up something of a makeshift set of drawers so he wasn’t living out of a suitcase. That ended up getting set in the hallway and was kinda in the way but there was no place else for it where Tobio could also reach it. Daichi stubbed his toe on it more times than he cared to count. Getting a new place was out of the question too given the rent spike between one and two bedroom apartments.

Trying to find a daycare that could take him right away was a nightmare. He called so many places and only one had an open slot. Actually going to the place left him feeling… well he didn’t particularly like it. It’d have to do for now given how last minute it was, but he was definitely going to keep looking for a better place. By the end of the second week, he’d about had it though. Tobio came home with bruises a few days, ones they claimed were from falling, and a few others whatever art project the boy had done came home crumpled or torn. Tobio claimed it was because some of the other kids messed with him. He’d retreated further and further into himself every day, getting more and more difficult to drag to the class in the morning and more and more eager to leave at the end of it.

It’s with a heavy but determined heart that he informs Captain Hiragi of his decision to move back home and request a transfer. The Captain doesn’t seem thrilled with it, but agrees anyway. His team’s not happy with it either but wish him well anyway, a few demanding that he get which popular social media app so they can stalk him and Tobio.

Daichi looks at houses and apartments, finding a couple and has Kuroo look at them for him. One gets the green light and he signs the paperwork. Packing boxes take up what little space they have, stacked to the ceiling over that last weekend. Tobio doesn’t do much. He seems more anxious than anything, barely eating and not sleeping much. Daichi about had it up to here with the whole thing. He’s not sure what to do with the boy. Talking with the supervisor at the daycare does nothing. He doesn’t think the teachers themselves are responsible for anything, but he’s got a strong suspicion it’s one or more of the kids and it’s just not being dealt with. He can’t even take time off to keep Tobio home. The team has quite a few cases going and him forcing himself to have ‘normal’ hours has already stressed the team enough without just dumping his entire workload on them… even though he does have the vacation time to do so. It’s not for much longer and then they’ll be in a new place and Tobio will have a school class instead or daycare.

He spends their last night packing up the last few things, leaving poptarts on the counter and putting the rest of the dried goods into boxes. The fridge was mostly cleaned out with only a yogurt and enough milk for a glass and a splash for coffee in the morning. He finally crawls into bed, gently scooting Tobio, who’s starfished himself in the middle of the mattress, over till he’s got enough room and passes out himself.

The movers, aka Kuroo and Bokuto, were late with the uhaul the following morning. Something about the reservation for that size truck not being in the system or some shit and Daichi ended up on the phone with the office, giving them the information that confirmed that, yes he had made a reservation for that size truck on this date and that no he couldn’t wait a day or take a smaller one. He ended up with a monster of a truck at half the price of the one he’d wanted originally.

Bokuto was the first one in the door, being his normal loud self and scaring Tobio half to death with his… _exuberance_ before he dropped to the floor to get on the boy’s level. Daichi wasn’t sure if it helped or not. Bokuto was _alot_ to handle if one didn’t know how to. Part of Daichi was glad he’d never quite lost that almost childish enthusiasm for life in general… except for school.

Bokuto had **hated** school… or at least the school part of school.

He and Kuroo had thrived on the peopling side of school, both popular for different reasons. Daichi was left in the background for the most part which worked fine for him. He liked being support instead of in the spotlight. It was probably why their volleyball team had worked so well, especially their last year.

Kuroo was a little less enthusiastic about Tobio but he was also a man on a mission, his goal to get them out of the apartment and back home took up most of the man’s attention. Everything else would come after.

The entirety of the house was moved within the space of a few hours. Most of the time was spent maneuvering the bigger pieces of furniture down the three flights of stairs and onto the truck. The boxes were much easier to load up and Daichi ended up giving the place a quick final cleaning as Kuroo and Bokuto emptied the house once the couch, bed and TV were taken care of. Tobio stayed out the way as much as possible, mostly on door duty.

Daichi finally locked the door for the last time and dropped the keys at the office. Kuroo and Bokuto hopped into the moving truck and led the way to the new house about forty-five minutes away with Daichi following in his own car.

The place was nice, an end unit on a row of townhomes. They’d each have their own rooms at least and space for their own shit. The kitchen was small and doubled as the laundry room but they could always eat at the coffee table in the living room so it was fine. He wasn’t thrilled with the _absolute_ lack of counterspace, annoyed that at least half of his coffee gizmos would have to be stored over the fridge or something along with his multiple bags of coffee beans.

Getting his mattress up the narrow stairs and around the corner of the landing as an event and a half but they finally got it into the master bedroom. Once the truck was emptied, the two guys took it back and Daichi went with Tobio to get some cheap furniture for his room. The plan was to eventually get him some good sturdy pieces but Daichi (a) didn’t have the funds for that at the moment and (b) Tobio needed them sooner rather than later.

They picked a few things out, ones that would last at least the next year though he was hoping for longer. Getting those into the car required some Tetris skills but they made it work. Kuroo and Bokuto were back at the house by the time they got there and helped move the boxes into the house and upstairs. What followed was almost three hours of putting furniture together and Daichi trying to keep track of the various screws that Bokuto had dumped on the floor. He remembers to toss the new sheets and blanket in the wash about halfway through. They finally get it all together and the twin mattress on the frame against the wall. The dresser and small bedside cabinet get put where Tobio wants them and Daichi stares briefly at the walls, deciding what to put on them to make them less… blah.

Kuroo and Bokuto leave to shower and change while Daichi throws the wash in the dryer and gets a shower himself. Once out, he helps Tobio find the box of clothes and put them away in his new dresser. Once the dryer goes off, he makes up the bed and they head out for dinner since he just _absolutely_ didn’t want to cook anything. They were meeting Kuroo and Bokuto too anyway as a way to pay them back for helping him move. Kuroo dragged Kenma for a ‘weekly peopling session’ but the small blond didn’t say much of anything… as was normal. He hadn’t said much in highschool either.

Tobio hadn’t said much and just ended up pressed into Kenma, watching him play on his PSP while the rest of them talked. They stayed out a bit longer than he’d planned and Tobio fell asleep in the car on the way home. Daichi carried him inside and tucked him into bed, making sure the stuffed leopard was tucked in him and the water cup by his bed filled before leaving and flumping down on the couch. There were so many boxes and he really should try to put an hour onto sorting through the more important things, like locating the breakfast bars for tomorrow and more than the one hand towel for the bathroom… He’s already committed to sleeping on the couch tonight, His sheets and blankets for the bed having been lost somewhere in the pile to be sorted and unboxed. He does none of that and falls asleep.

The house slowly gets put together over the next week or two. Daichi starts work the second week and Tobio floats between Kuroo, Kenma, and occasionally Bokuto during work hours in an effort to keep him out of another daycare. The day for the start of the semester comes up and Daichi’s checked and double checked that he’s got everything in order for that first day. He looks at the handout from the office and finds the classroom. There’s a couple of parents dropping their kids off at the same door he’d been going for. There’s a voice he thinks is attached to a bobbing head of grey hair that’s greeting the kids. He keeps Tobio close to him as the parents leave and they’re funneled up closer. A tight grip in his shirt is the only indication he gets that Tobio’s nervous.

They finally get to the front of the line and Daichi almost trips over himself but manages **not** to look like a doofus. The teacher is younger than he expected… by alot… probably around his age if he’s being honest. He’s… well Daichi shoves the thought away.

“Good morning,” the teacher smiles, “And who is this?”

“This is Tobio… Sawamura Tobio,” he runs a hand through the black hair, smoothing it back down again, “Can you say hi to your teacher?”

Tobio did no such thing.

The teacher just smiled and leaned over, offering his hand which Tobio slowly took and gave a little shake, “Hey, I’m Sugawara Koushi. You can call me Mr. Suga though. Ok?” Tobio did nod at that, “Excellent. Is there something you’d like me to call you or is ‘Tobio’ fine?”

“Tobio’s good,” the voice is so small Daichi almost can’t hear him over the noise.

“Well Tobio, guess what? There’s a seat with your name on it. Can you go find it for me?”

Tobio glanced up at Daichi and walked slowly into the classroom.

“I’m sorry. He’s shy,” he offered a hesitant smile as the teacher straightened back up.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Sugawara grinned, “There’s a few shy ones this year,” he winked, “He’ll fit right in,”

Daichi almost refused to admit how much that put him at ease, “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“I won’t be able to come get him after school today but a friend of mine, Kuroo, is coming. Tobio knows him. His info is in Tobio’s file. If there is an emergency though do call me.”

“I can do that. I’m sure he’ll be fine though. See?” Mr. Sugawara stepped back a little and Daichi saw Tobio accepting a crayon and a piece of paper from another boy with dark hair, “Already making friends.”

That did Daichi’s heart some good.


	5. Chapter 5

Ohmagod. Ohmagod. Ohmagod.

Koushi can’t stand it.

He absolutely _cannot_ stand this absolutely adorkable man dropping his new student off. Mr. Sawamura is the absolute most precious thing he’s seen in a good long while.

And he’s fucking hot.

Not in like an underwear model way, though Koushi would pay **good** money to see that anyway. No… it was probably the confidence he had under the uncertainty and it was hard to explain even to himself. And the _daddy_ vibes are just- Koushi’s not a generalized hoe. It takes a special _something_ or three really good dates to make him go home with somebody.

That being said… he’d _absolutely_ go home with Mr. Sawamura in a heartbeat.

Nobody can be that genuinely awkward around a child while still trying his hardest to make sure the kid is cared for and have said _shy_ child respond to him in what Koushi would describe as a positive way.

He has to bite back the disappointment when he’s told he won’t be seeing Mr. Sawamura until tomorrow because somebody else was picking the kid up. It’s probably for the better though. If this were an anime, he’d have a nosebleed for sure.

Koushi accepts the last few students and sets them up with their lessons. He watches Tobio a little closer than the rest to make sure he’s settling in ok. The boy is very quiet, withdrawn and, despite making friends with Iwaizumi Yuu, he doesn’t say much at all or interact. It worries Koushi abit, makes him wonder what happened to make him like that or he’s just naturally _that_ introverted.

The day wraps up and most of the kids have left when Shoyo streaks into the room like a tornado, dropping his bag by Koushi’s desk, and rushes for the last pickups, “Hi-! Oh! You’re new-!” Tobio just blinks owlishly at him, “-I’m Shoyo!” he points at Koushi, “That’s my dad-well he’s my uncle but I never knew my dad so Unca Koush is my dad and my other dad is Unca Semi Semi, but he doesn’t like that name but that’s what Tendo calls him and-”

“Breathe, child!” Koushi called from the door.

Shoyo takes an exaggerated gulp of air, “What’s your name?”

Tobio blinked, “Tobio.”

There was a pregnant pause that almost made Koushi force a laugh down.

Shoyo bounced on his toes, waiting for more, and finally realized he wasn’t going to, “You’re new…! Did you move here?”

“Yea.”

Yuu noticed his dad about the same time Koushi did and dashed off. Mr. Iwaizumi gave Koushi a confused look and then followed his son down the hall. Yachi’s next, picked up by her sitter. She waves shyly at Shoyo who grins at her before trying to get Tobio to talk some more.

“Excuse me, Mr. Sugawara?”

He turned to see a face he was fairly sure he’d seen on Kenma’s lockscreen at some point. “Yes?”

Said face seemed to be stuck on some kind of smug expression, “Kuroo Tetsuro. I’m here for Sawamura Tobio,” The expression melted a little into something warmer and more genuine when he spotted the boy.

“Oh! Right,”

“Is that your dad!”

“No.”

Mr. Kuroo merely cocked a brow, “Ready to go, Sport?”

Tobio got up and grabbed his things.

“Bye! I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Shoyo was completely unfazed that he’d been more or less ignored.

Tobio did nod at that, “Bye,” and walked up to Mr. Kuroo who gave Koushi a smile and the pair walked out.

_“Have you ever gone mini golfing?”_

_“No.”_

It continues every day for the next week. The next four days start with a blessed few minutes talking with Mr. Sawamura, or Daichi as he insisted Koushi call him, usually going over the one picking Tobio up that day. It’s the best few minutes of the day honestly… except for Wednesday when Mr. Sawamura himself is the one to pick Tobio up and he stays an extra few minutes so Tobio can help Shoyo and Yuu can finish a giant ass floor puzzle of the country. Koushi asks about life, prying for information while trying to not be too obvious about it or bring up something that could sour Mr. Sawamura’s impression of him.

And the man doesn’t even notice.

He just seems so relieved that Tobio’s interacting with the other kids and not huddled up in some corner all by himself. He doesn’t even seem that concerned with the boy’s grades, though he does seem pleased when the art project for the day is handed to him. Koushi watches him turn it over and around a few times like he’s looking for imperfections, of which there are quite a few. The kids are five though so it doesn’t matter much. Mr. Sawamura doesn’t seem to notice those though and Koushi’s left wondering what he was looking for. Whatever it was, he was pleased with what was there or not there.

Tooru shows up on Friday. Tobio’s already been picked up by Kenma of all people, and Yuu’s just been picked up by his dad, who’s a bit late today, when the whirlwind that was the associated high school’s boys’ volleyball coach flounced his way in… or rather flounced as much as a man can with a stiff knee. Koushi had been expecting him since it was the second Friday and, therefore, their night to go and do something while Eita watched Shoyo.

Tooru leans over Koushi’s desk where he’s sorting some paperwork, “Who was the _delicious_ man who just walked out of here-! I need one.”

Koushi arched a brow, “Nunya.”

“Oh _come on_ ,” Tooru pouted, “Just his number.”

“I could get fired for that you know.”

“But he’s hooot. Koushi, don’t you love me?”

“With all my heart, _you know that_ , but I’m having a _steamy_ affair with somebody called ‘paycheck’ and he’s paying my mortgage and your sushi,” he stood to put papers into the kids’ cubbies.

Tooru huffed a dramatic sigh, “But Koooushiii...”

He glanced out into the hallway before giving Tooru a pointed look, “Fuck. off.”

Tooru laid a hand over his chest, “Koushi! There’s children!”

“It’s only the one and like you give a shit,” he grabbed his stuff, “Ready Shoyo?”

“YEA!”

“You should care,” Tooru replied, “You’re supposed to be the responsible one.”

Koushi cackled, “Bruh, I feed him vegetables, keep a roof over his head and let him sleep with me if he has nightmares. I think I’m doing ok,” he couldn’t help but feel some doubt though. He wasn’t nearly as parental as some of the others, but he hadn’t been this for long either and he _really_ was trying.

Hell, the band had gone on hiatus so he and Eita could figure everything out when… _Kaede_ got arrested and Shoyo had nowhere but a foster home to go to.

He didn’t regret a minute of it but… he still missed the way life used to be without a kid in the house.

But he’d rather not have that than for Shoyo to be with anybody else.

“What are you on about anyway? You don’t even like kids.”

Tooru gasped, “I like Chibi.”

Shoyo grinned at him, “I like you too, Great Oikawa!”

Tooru just looked smug.

“Don’t call him that. It inflates his head,” Koushi unlocked the car, ”Soon he’ll just float away.”

“Rude.”

“Hop in,” Kouhis dumped his stuff in the car, “Am I driving or are you meeting me there?”

“I-” Tooru’s obnoxious ringtone went off, “Hold on. Yoo hoo~…?”

Koushi rolled his eyes and made sure Shoyo was buckled up right before turning the car on.

“What did what!” Tooru flipped his lid, “Shit! No! I’m coming!” he glanced at Koushi, “The water heater busted! I have to go!”

“ _Shit_.”

 **That** sucked…

"Call me if you need help!" he yelled after the man who was running as fast as his bum knee would let him. Koushi hoped it’d _just_ happened and not a case of somebody coming home and the floor’s sopping wet and half their shit has to get thrown out because it's irreparably waterlogged. He’d probably text him later… see if it was all ok. But now his evening was half ruined so he called Eita, told him what was going on and that if he and Tendo wanted to go out they could, reminding Eita about the band meetup later, and then drove home. When Eita and Tendo didn’t show up forty-five minutes later, he assumed they’d gone out. Shoyo wolfed down the fried rice and was in the middle of taking his bath when the pair showed up. Tendo plunked on the couch while Koushi finished getting ready and Eita changed into something else. Shoyo was on the couch with Tendo watching something or other when they left.

The bar they drove to was busy, but the table in the back of the place was already reserved and Keiji was sitting on his phone with an untouched drink in front of him. Koushi slid into the other side of the booth and Keiji moved to let Eita side next to the wall.

“Hello.”

“Hey. How’s life?” Koushi checked the time.

“Living,” Keiji replied.

“Same. How’s the new issue?”

Keiji heaved a weary sigh, looking as pained as Akaashi Keiji could, “I had the most inane thing to edit today…”

Eita made a face, “Oof.”

“I swear… If I have to read another OP protagonist with zero social skills, all the friends, and saving the world because ‘it’s the right thing to do’ I’ll scream.”

“But are there cute harem girls?” Noya appeared with a tray of drinks, a short blond with roots showing behind him.

Koushi got out to let Kenma slide in between him and the wall, “Like you’d read it for that.”

Noya shrugged and plopped down next to Keiji- only to hop up when somebody from the bar yelled for him, “What!”

“Explain to me again how he owns the damn bar,” Eita rolled his eyes.

“It was a shrewd business move,” Kenma intoned without looking up from his PSP.

Eita gave him a look, “ _Thanks_.”

“How’s the DMV.”

“Fuck you.”

“Boys,” Keiji looked tiredly annoyed.

“He started it,” Eita complained.

Keiji merely raised a judgemental eyebrow. Koushi snorted to himself and took a sip of his drink while glanced around the place, trying to get a read for what it'd be like in a month. The bar was definitely doing better than it had been a year ago. Noya buying the space next door and knocking the shared wall out to make the space bigger helped.

He caught sight of some patron with dark hair. It wasn’t Mr. Sawamura, but he looked vaguely similar from behind and the stretchy pants did what Koushi assumed what extra tight jeans would do for Mr. Sawamura’s ass. It was dipping into dangerous territory, but he wasn’t at school with kids so he supposed it was ok for now. He’d **love** to see the man in a _wet_ skintight t-shirt-

“Earth to Koushi!”

He jolted, thoughts of soft brown eyes and nice ass fading, “Huh?”

“Did the aliens come for you instead of Oikawa?” Noya grinned.

When did he get here?

“Fuck off.”

“What were you thinking about?” Eita asked, not exactly sounding sincere about it.

“Nunya.”

“Can’t zone out that hard and not expect us to be curious.”

“You’ve been distracted,” Kenma added.

 _Greeeat_.

“Ok fine… There’s this new kid in my class right? Started this week with the new term. Gets dropped off by his dad only his dad is _**hot**_. Like sports' athlete on GQ cover hot and the interview is about his fitness routine. He’s a cop I think. He wasn’t in uniform but yesterday I saw handcuffs-” Eita smirks knowingly at him, “-and he just has that aura. You know? And the jeans he wears cling to his ass when he walks away. I thought I might need a minute on Monday-”

“Dude.”

“I know but you didn’t _see_ him. He gave me the vibes of a bird, but not a small bird, like a hawk or something, who’s had his wings clipped but they’ve grown back and he’s trying to figure out how to fly again.”

“That’s… specific.”

“Like tragic single dad or something. Like he doesn’t quite know what to do with his kid but is trying his hardest despite never even _seeing_ a child in his life. He’s like if Wakatoshi was my height but just as built as he is now and with enough social awareness to know he’s awkward and tries to cover it up and ultimately failing but it’s fucking adorable.”

“I was gonna say that Toshi knows he’s awkward but he doesn't care enough.”

“He knows he’s awkward. He just doesn’t get **how** awkward. That man is amazingly inept at anything **not** volleyball.”

“It’s part of his charm,” Eita sniffed.

Koushi blinked at him, “He reads the fucking _ads_ in magazines.”

Eita shrugged, “He’s reading what he paid for.”

“Ass. Jeans,” Noya prompted.

“Right. He’s just-ugh… I wanna squish him but also have him squish me-” Eita snorted and Keiji looked vaguely amused, “-but there’s always kids around so I can’t even like _flirt_ with him. And there’s his kid who’s possibly adopted or something.”

“Why do you think that?” Keiji asked.

“They have the same last name but they don’t really look anything alike. I mean I look more like Shoyo than these two look like each other. The eyes are all different and the kid’s are fucking _blue_ and his face is so much thinner than his dad’s. He honestly looks more like Keiji than his dad,” he shoots said male a look, "You don't have a sister right?"

Keiji merely cocks his brow at him. 

“Yea but Asahi doesn’t look like his sister,” Noya replied, “Maybe this kid of his looks like his mom.”

“Very true…” Koushi sagged, “but that means the mother could still be around…” he made a face, “That could get messy.”

“Why?” Eita took a sip of his drink.

Koushi tossed his head, flicking his hair in a very _Tooru_ fashion, “Because I’m eventually going to seduce him. _Duh_.”

Eita’s face did something funny, “What’s the chances of a ‘hot’ guy like that, with a kid no less, turn out to be gay?

Koushi blinked, “Have you _seen_ our group of friends? We attract them like bugs to a porchlight.”

Noya snorted so hard his drink came out of his nose. Akaashi smacked him on the back as he choked. Kenma said nothing, but that was normal.

Eita sighed, “Very true.”

“And you-” Koushi pointed at Kenma, “You’re not allowed to say **any** thing to him. I know you know him.”

“How would you know that?” Eita asked

“He picked the kid up today.”

Eita cocked a brow as he stared at Kenma, “Did you now?”

Kenma shrugged.

“Nonono… You don’t get to _pick up his kid_ and then **shrug**. Who is he and how do you know him well enough to be trusted with his kid?”

“High school, but he’s more Kuroo’s friend than mine. We played on the same high school team.”

 _That’s_ where that bedhead had been seen before.

“You never told me your boyfriend-” he ignored the death glare, “-had such cute friends. Is he single?” Kenma got up, practically shoved Koushi out of the way, and walked off the bathroom. “You can’t ignore me forever!” Koushi plunked back down, “ _Bitch_ … holding out on me like that.”

“Have you heard from Tooru by the way?” Akaashi asked as soon as Noya stopped actively dying, “I thought he was coming.”

“Don’t get me started on him,” Koushi growled into his glass, “We’re getting ready to go to our usual like sushi date or whatever like we do twice a month. He gets a call from Makki or Matsun about the water heater busting so he rushes home.”

“That’s terrible,” the other three look highly concerned.

“Oh he deserves everything. He showed up as the last few were getting picked up. _Checks out_ one of my student’s parents and has the audacity to ask me to look into the student’s file to get his contact info.”

“ _Scan-dalous_ ,” Eita makes a face.

Akaashi blinks, “So it’s ok for _you_ to ogle parental backsides but not him…”

“Shut up! Stop makes sense.”

“Who was it?” Kenma asked as he reappeared and gestured for his phone which he’d left on the table.

Koushi slid it over, “Iwaizumi Yuu… or rather his dad… can’t remember his name.”

“Mm… If it’s ‘Hajime’ then he was married until recently to the daughter of some tech CEO.”

“So probably not gay.”

“Probably not,” and Kenma walked off again.

“Poor Tooru.”

“Eh,” Eita shrugged, “It’d have lasted a week anyway.”

“Truth.”

“So!” Noya slammed his hands on the tabletop, “Set. We need enough songs to get through an hour and hopefully more like two since this **is** our big comeback and I’ve put some _money_ into advertising this thing. Keep in mind, we’ve only got a month to practice.”


End file.
